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Dylan Moran
Dylan Moran (b. November 3, 1971) is an Irish stand-up comedian, actor, comedy writer, filmmaker and artist who is famous for his observational style of stand-up comedy, co-writing and starring in the sitcom Black Books, and appearing in such films as Run, Fat Boy, Run, Shaun of the Dead and A Film With Me In It. ''Moran has performed all over the world at such events as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Kilkenny Comedy Festival. Biography Early life Moran was born in Navan, Co. Meath in the Republic of Ireland, on November 3, 1971. He attended the St. Patrick's Classical School, where he was first attracted to the idea of stand-up comedy. There, he met fellow Irish comedians Tommy Tiernan and Hector Ó hEochagáin. At 16 years of age, he left school with no qualifications and spent four years 'drinking and writing bad poetry'. He briefly worked as a florist, however, resigned after a week as he hated it. Early career in stand-up Inspired by fellow comics, including Ardal O'Hanlon, Moran first took to the stage at age 20 in the small comedy club, the Comedy Cellar in Dublin. He began performing there in 1992 and, although he had to overcome his nerves, he was well recieved. In 1993, he won the So You Think You're Funny Best Newcomer's award at the Edinburgh Festival after only a year in comedy. He began gathering his routines into a one-man show entitled ''Gurgling For Money, for which he recieved the Perrier Award in 1996, and began a nationwide tour of the UK. He performed at many comedy festival including the Hay Festival, the Montreal comedy festival, the Vancouver Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Festival, and began writing a weekly column in The Irish Times newspaper between 1995 and 1996. Television work and later tours In 1998, Moran made his first TV appearance starring as Ian Lyons in the BBC 2 sitcom How Do You Want Me?, and went on to appear in a brief role as Rufus the Thief in 1999 film, Notting Hill. Moran, with the aid of Father Ted writer Graham Linehan, co-wrote and starred in the Channel 4 sitcom, Black Books (2000 - 2004), about the miserable, depressed bookshop owner Bernard Black. The show first aired in 2000, and in the same year, Moran was nominated for the Best TV Comedy Actor at the British Comedy Awards and in 2001, the show won the BAFTA award for Best Situation Comedy. The second series aired in 2002 and the third in 2004, with both series picking up awards including another BAFTA. In 2002, Moran starred alongside Simon Pegg in his first major film role as David in Shaun of the Dead. He went on to appear in The Actors ''and in the Michael Winterbottom film ''A Cock and Bull Story. In 2000, Moran toured with his Ready, Steady, Cough tour and in 2004 with Monster I and Monster II. He performed in such countries as the USA and Italy. The Monster tours were described by The Times as a 'masterclass of comic charisma: swinging from topic to topic in a manner seemingly spontaneous but actually tightly organised'. On May 28, Monster II was filmed at Dublin's Vicar Street and was made into his first DVD. He went on to record his following tour, Like, Totally, in 2005. Moran appeared alonside Simon Pegg for the second time in the 2007 comedy film, Run, Fat Boy, Run as Gordon. In June 2008, Moran appeared alongside fellow Irish comics Ardal O'Hanlon and Tommy Tiernan in a one-off comedy event, The Three Fellas. In late 2008, Moran disembarked on another comedy tour, What It Is, and proved so popular that it was extended into 2009 and has since been made into a DVD. Awards and achievements Dylan Moran has been six awards for his work on Black Books and has won three, including the Bronze Rose at the Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival and two BAEFTAs. A Channel 4 poll ranked him the 17th Greatest Comedy Stand-Up, and the popular French magazine Le Monde voted him the 'greatest comedian, living or dead'. He was also the winner of the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1996, however, later stated that it was 'a load of media rubbish', and felt that the award should have gone to Bill Bailey. He also won the So You Think You're Funny award in 1993. Personal life Moran met his future wife, Elaine, when he was performing at the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh, where she was working. They married on 6 September, 1997, and they have two children together, Siobhan and Simon. His family are frequently mentioned in his stand-up routines, however, he is often reluctant to talk about them or his career during interviews, as seen in interviews on the Monster DVDs, in which Moran in silent throughout. Moran currently resides with his family in Edinburgh, Scotland. Filmography Behind the scenes *Moran is a fan of British singer PJ Harvey and often uses her song '50ft Queenie' as an introduction to his stand-up. *He is a fan of such writers as Don DeLillo, Harold Pinter, Isaac Bashevis Singer, SJ Perelmam and JB Morton. *He describes Black Books co-star Bill Bailey as 'a real, old-fashioned wit in the Swiftian mode'. External links *Dylan Moran on Wikipedia *Dylan Moran on IMDb *Dylan Moran Rules Fansite *Channel 4 Interview Moran, Dylan